- 200g/7oz plain flour, sifted
- 100g/3½oz cold unsalted butter
- 50g/2oz walnuts, finely ground
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 250g/9oz baby spinach
- 7 new potatoes
- 4 free-range eggs
- 250ml/9oz double cream
- 1 lemon, zest only
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 25g/1oz parmesan, finely grated (or alternative vegetarian hard cheese)
- handful fresh thyme, chopped
- 150g/5½oz Stilton, crumbled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the pastry, tip the flour and butter into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Rub the mixture together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the walnuts and paprika.
- Slowly add enough of the beaten egg to bind the mixture (you may not need all of it). Knead the pastry briefly until smooth, flatten into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- Roll the pastry out between two sheets of cling film, remove the cling film and use the pastry to line a 25cm/10in tart tin.
- Line the pastry with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and greaseproof paper and bake for a further five minutes, or until pale golden-brown.
- Meanwhile, for the filling, wilt the spinach in a saucepan with a little water. Set aside to cool, then squeeze out the excess water and chop finely.
- Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes, or until just cooked, then cool and slice into 0.5cm/¼in slices.
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in the cream, lemon zest, nutmeg, cayenne and parmesan. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then stir in the spinach and half of the thyme.
- Arrange the potato slices in the bottom of the pastry case and sprinkle over the Stilton. Spoon in the spinach mixture and sprinkle over the remaining thyme.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden-brown and just set. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.